Why the heck would he call me that?
“It’s Andi. As in Andrea.”
“Whatever you say, Andrew.” With that, Brandon Nix walks away.
How dare he? I mean, I wasn’t the most pleasant with him either, but still. Andrew? Me likening him to a badger was appropriate. He was certainly making animalistic noises for no apparent reason.
I wonder if he plays soccer because he doesn’t have opposable thumbs to otherwise throw and catch a ball. It would explain a lot.
I cannot believe my luck to be on this doomed flight with the very man who may be responsible for putting my career in jeopardy. What did I ever do to deserve this?
And why does this man get a rise out of me? I don’t normally let my feelings make their way to the surface. I’ve never wanted to burden my family with my emotions, since they had so much to deal with, with my brother. That skill has served me well as a referee. I can’t afford to let my feelings show in my line of work. But now that there’s no audience, I didn’t think twice about letting that oaf know what I thought of him.
No poker face here.
I step up to the counter to ask for an estimated timeframe to landing in Denver. The harried clerk types away on the keyboard. “I’m afraid it might be a while. Apparently, a tornado touched down outside of metro Denver, and Denver International was impacted. They’re closed to flights for the moment.”
“A tornado? In Denver? I thought it was next to impossible because of the mountains.” I shake my head. That can’t be right.
She shrugs. “It happens more than you’d think. I mean, what are the odds?”
There’s that question again.
The pang hits my stomach with such a visceral force that it’s all I can do not to double over. What are the odds? And what if it touched down by my parents’ home? It’s not like Benj can run to the basement.
My fingers fumble my phone as I pull it out of my sweatpants pocket. They don’t seem to be working, and my phone falls to the floor. I squat to pick it up, but there’s a hand on it already.
“I’d expect you to have more coordination than to drop your phone, Andrew.”
“Andi.”
“Here ya go, Andrew,” Brandon Nix says, handing me my phone back. I snatch it out of his hands and turn around, cradling it as Sméagol did with his precious inLord of the Rings.
Me: Are you okay?
Benj: Fine, why?
My body sags with relief.
Me: Tornado in Denver?
Benj: Really? Can’t believe I missed it
Me: How did you miss it?
Benj: I’m in Albuquerque
Albuquerque? What the hell is he doing there?
Me: What are you doing there? How did you get there?
Benj: I’m road-tripping
Wait? What is going on? I feel like I’m in a fever dream or something. Maybe that’s what all this is! Maybe I’m really asleep on the plane which is still in the air and Brandon Nix wasn’t even on the plane.
Why was he there? I’m not sure if I’m more disturbed by running into him like this or the thought that I’m dreaming about him. A shudder runs through my body.
Me: How are you road tripping?
